NEW YORK, March 20 (Reuters) - CME Group Inc announced on Friday it had auctioned off the portfolios of clearing firm Ronin Capital, an apparent victim of the market turmoil in which U.S. stocks have plunged more than 30% from their peak.

As a direct clearing firm for CME, Ronin Capital handled trades on the exchange. CME said the auction took place Friday morning, but it did not disclose the winning bidder. Ronin did not handle customer business, CME said, so no clients incurred losses as a result of the liquidation.

A spokeswoman for CME Group said she could not provide further comment. Reuters was unable to reach Ronin Capital. (Reporting by April Joyner Editing by Leslie Adler)